This invention relates to an enclosure having interlocking sides and more particularly to a housing for electronic equipment in which the corner joints may be slideably mated to produce an easily assembled and disassembled housing.
Traditional techniques for housing and shielding electronic components typically employ sections of sheet metal or plastic formed in convenient shapes and fastened together by screws or other means. Such housings are generally known as miniboxes and are widely available to the public for non-critical needs. More expensive equipment, or equipment generating sufficient heat, require more elaborate housing and typically utilize a cast or extended chassis to conduct heat away from sensitive electronic components. Covers may be secured to the chassis to provide mechanical protection and electronic radio frequency (RF) shielding. An example of such an electronic equipment housing may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,025, Grube, Jr., assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Although each of the above examples are well suited to their application, a need exists for an inexpensive and easily constructed housing which provides mechanical and electrical integrity. U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,293, Seda et al. offers one solution to the need. There, a box-like structure is formed from a collapsible side walls and interlocking joints. The joints may be further secured by screws or other fasteners which wedge flanges of equal inside radii and equal outside radii together to form a seal resistant to moisture. Such a structure, however, requires a relatively tight fit between interlocking joint flanges during assembly. This tight fit makes assembly difficult and leaves little room for undesirable burrs and chips to locate when the fastener is inserted into the interlocking joint. Furthermore, any misalignment from part tolerance or chips created during assembly will be readily apparent as a gap in the mitered edge.